The present invention relates generally to electrical connectors and relates more specifically to a secondary terminal lock for securing electrical conductor terminals in the cavities of terminal blocks.
A wide variety of connectors have been developed for joining the ends of electrical conductors to other elements in a circuit. In mass produced products, such as automotive products and appliances, it is common practice to have the electrical circuits include preassembled wiring harnesses to which elements of the device are connected in a predetermined sequence during assembly. Terminals commonly in use at the ends of the wiring harness wires are typically female terminals of a type suited for mounting in a terminal interface board, which board may be of the modular block type. In automotive applications, for example, such terminal boards may serve for the installation of flashers, circuit breakers, relays and similar elements to facilitate the initial assembly of the vehicle as well as to simplify trouble shooting and replacement should problems arise during use.
A widely-used female terminal for which the present invention has been particularly developed is characterized by a channel shaped body, the outer channel edges of which are inwardly flanged to provide a box-like structure within which a spadeshaped male connector is received. A spring within the terminal body serves to hold the male lug into spring-biased contact with the channel flanges to maintain a good electrical contact between the male and female connector elements.
Terminals of the general type described typically include a primary locking means, for example a tang which cooperates with a shoulder of the terminal board to hold the terminal in the board cavity. While such primary locking means are sufficient for the initial assembly of the terminal block, their failure to hold the terminal in place under stress conditions or under heavy vibrations have necessitated some additional locking arrangement known as a secondary terminal lock. Typically, secondary locks are of the multiple terminal type wherein a single locking element is employed to secure a multiplicity of terminals. Examples of such locks are illustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,557,542, issued Dec. 10, 1985, and 4,602,839, issued July 29, 1986. Locking devices of this type typically require extensive modification of the terminal board for their accomodation and in some cases the terminal itself may be of a special design to cooperate with the secondary lock element.